Q There are some brand-new metering lights and carpool road markings on the onramps to Highway 92 west at Clawiter Road and Industrial Parkway in Hayward. Are the carpool markings valid right now? There are no signs with information. Most of us guess that they are not active and we ignore them.

And any idea when the metering lights will be switched on? It’ll be an interesting experiment to see how much (or whether) it backs up onto the normal roads.

Tom Geary

Fremont

A The CHP says if there are both carpool lane signs along the ramps and diamond markers on the pavement, carpool rules are enforceable, even if metering lights are not yet working. If there is only one warning, the carpool restriction is not enforceable.

As for the metering lights, they could be turned on this fall. Now let’s swing over to 92 on the other side of the bay.

Q Looks like Caltrans has installed metering lights on the ramp from east 92 to south 101 in San Mateo. Do the powers that be know what a mess this will create? The stretch of 92 between 280 and 101 is already jammed in the morning. Having metering lights will make matters worse and force more traffic onto San Mateo city streets.

Paul Richards

San Mateo

A Others disagree.

Q Every morning 101 south moves along at a decent pace until it intersects with Highway 92, at which point everything comes to a crawl. As I’ve passed the interchange, I’ve noticed that the ramps from 92 east and west onto 101 have metering lights, but they are all turned off. Any idea why they aren’t on during rush hour?

Jake Hercules

San Francisco

A And …

Q When will the ramp meters at 92 and 101 be operational? They are sorely needed, as traffic now backs up from Hillsdale Boulevard all the way to Peninsula Avenue.

John Selin

Belmont

A They should be working this spring or summer. Metering lights will also be turned on at 101 from Highway 92 north to Harney Way. There will be freeway-to-freeway meters from west 92 to north 101 and east 92 to south 101, but there are no plans to meter the other connectors.

Q I have been traveling south on Interstate 680 to I-580 since I moved to Benicia about seven years ago and I do not understand why the carpool lane is disrupted between North Main Street and Livorna Road in the Walnut Creek area. There does not seem to be any real reason for this, as the left lane is virtually continuous and doglegs only in the Livorna end. California stresses safety and energy conservation, and discontinuing the carpool lane for about 5 miles does not help either cause.

Drivers in the right lanes try to get into the extra lane to gain some time at North Main and then have to get out a short distance later. Meanwhile, cars in the left lane slow to a crawl and are at risk from the rush of lane jumpers. Drivers who do have a passenger get reduced benefit both in time and gasoline saving due to this.

I have written several letters to Caltrans asking about this and the usual comment is that “we are studying this.” Do you have any better information about this?

Kenneth Trosien

Benicia

A Oh, yes. Construction could begin in two years on a $76.7 million project to fill in the southbound carpool lane gap between South Main and Livorna by 2018. This has the potential to be one of the best-used carpool lanes in the Bay Area, running from the Benicia Bridge to the Alameda County line.

Q There is a piece of Ardenwood Boulevard in Fremont where it crosses Paseo Padre Parkway that is in horrible condition. This strip is a conduit to the Dumbarton Bridge and to Newark and Union City. Does Fremont have any plans to fix it? They fixed the Paseo Padre Parkway part a few years back but did nothing with Ardenwood, which is literally crumbling away.

Lore Winterman-Sturm

A Look for repairs this month on the northbound lanes between the Alameda Flood Control Channel and Route 84.

Q Would you please find out what BART’s plan are for the Walnut Creek parking lot during construction of the BART village project? I’ve reviewed documents for that project and don’t find any details. Just vague promises for alternate parking locations. I sent emails to BART and got zero response.

Marie Cooper

Walnut Creek

A Once construction begins on the parking garage (which is the first phase of the transit village), about 100 surface parking spaces will no longer be available. Right now BART is considering two alternatives to replacing that parking but no final decision has been reached. The parking garage, once completed, will add 851 parking spaces at the station.

Q Quick favor: Could you have the powers that be look at the timing of the lights on Tully Road from about King to Senter and coordinate it with the offramps from 101? Traffic is not able to clear the offramp and it backs up onto 101, creating a rather hazardous situation as the vehicles in the exit lane are stationary, while the rest of 101 can be moving at speed. The left turn lanes onto King, Alvin, Lanai and McLaughlin seem to be the culprits that keep the overpass and exits from clearing. The effect is worse southbound than northbound, but both sides are affected.

Actually, Tully is a mess on weekends as well, but that’s another story.

Peter David

San Jose

A The city and Caltrans are working together to modify one of the ramp locations. When that is done, the city will coordinate these two signals. The lights should be working better in a few months.

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